CPG Guild Charter and Core Rules 10/20/18

The Charter

Cult of the Plush Gnome is a casual and alt friendly, PvE oriented, World of Warcraft® Alliance Guild on the merged Windrunner and Darrowmere Realms.  We are 21 or older, helpful, polite, and fun-loving.  We provide a good environment for those new to WoW, those leveling and exploring, and longtime players looking for a relaxed home. We don't narrow our focus to any one aspect of the game, instead we explore it all at our own pace. 

Our Goals

A) Respectful and Relaxed Atmosphere: 
Our goal is to provide a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere for all of our Members.  We're all 21 or older and treat each other with respect and tolerance. We are a haven from the verbal abuse that is often found in pugs and the world chat channels.  Absolutely no offensive language based on gender/race/sexual orientation will be allowed. No talk or debates about politics, religion, or other divisive issues.  We don't expect professionalism and maturity at all times, our aim is to have fun without being imbecilic, to enjoy the game and each other's company. 

B) Anti-Drama: 
We are dedicated to a drama and annoyance free guild. We strive to create a culture and environment where members can relax and have fun, and don't feel the need to wince or turn off guild chat every few minutes. We want CPG to be a guild you are proud to be part of. Unjustified drama will not be tolerated. If you can't handle concerns in a respectful and productive manner this isn't the guild for you. 

C) Social Events: 
Unique social events are part of the plan. Past events include a level 1 gnome invasion of Thunder Bluff, panda’s in a Santa Chorus Line, death drop target shooting (especially in horde areas), the flamingo army parade, holiday fireworks and parades, scavenger hunts, virtual flash mobs, etc. If you have an idea for a fun social we’d like to hear it.

D) Raids: 
Our goals for raiding are simple – get everyone who is interested involved, and have fun doing it. Friday is our more relaxed raid, great for gearing up or learning how to raid, and is alt friendly.  Saturdays are more progression oriented and focused on the current raid tier. We take turns when it comes to limited raid roles like tanking or healing. This means we sometimes end up with strange class combinations and raiders using an alternative spec or character.  We work on helping people and maintaining a respectful and tolerant atmosphere in all of our raids. In CPG, raiding is a team effort – it’s not just about you getting the best gear and topping the meters

E) RL Comes First: 
CPG believes strongly in Real Life Comes First.  Your relationships and commitments with loved ones, your pets, your work - we understand and applaud you putting them first before your commitments to us. We will do all we can to make sure you have the time you need to take care of RL issues, and there are no penalties for not being able to show up for an event, including raids.  What we ask in return is that you let us know you won’t be able to attend an activity you signed up for (and we understand this may not be possible), or that something has happened or will be happening that will cause you not to be around for a time (long or short).

Listing all of the Goals above is simple.  Making them work in practice is much harder.  But they are our Goals and we all try to the best of our abilities to make them work. Realize that this guild is a community, it’s about every player in the guild and not just the individual.  The rules and policies we set up affect everyone.  The Officers, along with all of our Members, are committed to keeping CPG a pleasant, fun, fair, and enviable place to be.

How to Apply 

• Read through this document and make sure we're the right guild for you. 
• Select the Apply to Guild link on our Website home page [top, left column]. 
• Log in with your Gamer (Guild) Launch account, social media, or create a new account. 
• Choose one of the following:

         YES I would like to get member level access or become a member. 
         NO I only need to post in public forums or I'm not ready to apply to this guild. 

• Select Skip Launch Code and Continue. 
• Read, then fill out our application and submit. 
• An Officer will leave a reply to your application post. Usually we'll be looking to set up an in-game interview to get to know you a bit, and likely give you an invite to a trial membership (Initiate Status) if we think you're a good fit for our guild. Follow the Officers’ directions left on your application page to help facilitate the interview. 

 
Once a Plushie Always a Plushie

    If you once belonged to CPG and you want to join us again you have a few options: 

• If you have been a member of the CPG website you most likely still are. You can go to your old application and add a message to it and that action will bump it for our attention; or
• You were not a member of this website or can’t remember, or you can’t locate you’re old application, you can simply fill out a new application; or  
• Still unsure? Contact an Officer in-game and ask them what action you should take.

The Fine Print 

Who is in charge?

The Officers:

Guild Master: Elyssya

First Officer: Stabbie

Zookeepers: Azphyxsus; Belgarrion; Belloria; Coldplasma; Dohjoe; Grunge; Kajmi; and Zentiku. 

Raid Leaders: Castillo

Raid Assistants:

Initiate Period Attendance 
While you are an Initiate (typically four weeks) we need to have you at least somewhat involved in the Guild. This doesn't mean you need to chat endlessly in guild chat, or logon for several hours a night. But if we hardly ever see you, or we really have no idea what you're like, we won’t promote you to Member status. Let us know if things have come up to prevent you from playing much during your Initiate period.  As an Initiate you are welcome to join in and sign up for anything that catches your interest.

    What CPG Expects from You 

• A helpful and supportive attitude. CPG is about helping and having fun. 
• Keep guild business in the guild.  If you have an issue or disagreement with another Member please try to resolve it in private.  If you have a concern about the Guild please talk to an Officer or use our website or Discord forums, not guild chat. Please do not engage in arguments about this Guild on the WoW forums. 
• When we do wacky stuff, only participate if it's something you'll enjoy. These events, all events, are optional. 
• Treat non-guild players with due respect. CPG is intended to be a haven for those who wish to avoid the trash talk and name calling that happens in the World Chat channels, all the various raiding and dungeon Pugs, PvP, and LFR, lol, well everything outside of our Guild. We never want our Members to be the source of this disrespectful behavior. If you cannot control yourself and your comments this is not the guild for you. 
  That said, we don't expect you to be an angel. Just don't make us look bad. Remember you have the guild name floating over your head. Players may not remember you, but they'll remember the guild. 

 
Mains vs Alts 
All Members are encouraged to have as many alts in the guild as they'd like (*see below: Changing Names etc.).  For guild management/organization all Members are required to pick one of their characters as their "Main”. The character with a guild rank of "Member" or above is usually considered the player's Main. You may declare an alt as your “Raid Main” without actually switching your Main.  For considerations (such as raiding) Mains/Raid Mains are likely to be given preference.   

Switching Mains 
Switching the “Main” designation from one character to another is not to be taken lightly. A switch now and then (especially after an expansion pack) is acceptable, but the Officers reserve the right to refuse a switch if the player appears to be subverting the best interests of the guild. To make a Main or Raid Main switch, post your intentions on the forums (General Forum, Main/Raid Main Change Requests). Once that is done and approved, an Officer will change your status.

Changing Names/Removing or Deleting Alts
*With the advent of Battle for Azeroth you may now have up to 18 characters per realm. This means that with both the Windrunner and Darrowmere realms available to CPG, you could potentially have 36 characters eligible to join our guild. You can see where this would make keeping track of our people and their characters a priority for us. The game interface enables us to link everyone’s alts to their Main character both in-game and on our website.  It is essential that we keep this information current and accurate.

Sometimes a Member will decide they’ve chosen the wrong name for a character, or have changed the character around so much the name no longer fits. Sometimes a player will decide they made a mistake creating a certain toon at all so they delete the toon, or they want to move that toon to another realm, or they may decide to send them over to the dark side – oh no! They’re Horde!  If you make any changes like this to your Main or your cadre of characters please notify an Officer so we can make sure our Membership record is accurate.  We obviously have a lot of people to keep track of so your assistance in keeping us informed will be greatly appreciated. 

Mains Leaving 
If your Main leaves the Guild, and you have alts remaining, you need to pick one of them as your new Guild Main. If you have not contacted an Officer, or posted on our website or Discord about your situation, either your alts will be removed from the Guild or we may appoint a new Main for you. This will largely depend on the length of time you've been here and your prior interaction us.

If You Leave the Guild 
If, for whatever reason, you decide CPG isn't a good fit for you please be open and honest about it with us. Contact an Officer, post a message on the guild forums, give us a chance to say goodbye and good luck. Even if we aren't the right guild for you we still want to part on good terms. 

Members/Initiates Removed from the Guild 
Usual reasons for removal or denial of Membership:

• Inactivity*
• Hacked account 
• Little guild interaction (Initiates)*
• Creating more problems than you're worth.

*Our Guild is a community and we expect that you will interact with us in a manner comfortable to you…but we do expect you to interact somewhat.  However, ‘parking’ or ‘camping’ your toons in CPG with no intended interaction is not appreciated and you will be removed. 

We don't take booting Members or Initiates lightly.  We will make an effort to talk to you about problems first, but realize we also have to maintain a positive and enjoyable community.

Inactivity 
Any Member or alt may be removed from the roster if they haven't logged in for over 6 months. We understand and agree that real life is important and we will be happy to invite you back if you left on good terms. If you know that you will be inactive, please post on the AFK Notices on the website (General Tab, AFK Notices) or on Discord (General tab).  If you've been with us for a while and established a relationship we will most likely remove your alts and change your Main to “Inactive” status. 
 
Account Sharing 
Members may not share an account with a non-member.  If you do this you are essentially adding a person to our Guild that we do not know or have not approved.  Account sharing with a non-member has caused serious problems for us in the past. We do not allow it.

Account sharing with a Member will need to follow these guidelines: 

• The person being added to a Member’s account will need to go through the application process. 
• The added person will need their own ‘Main’ in CPG and the toons that they play will be attached to their Main, not the original Member’s Main.
• If the relationship is ended for whatever reason, an Officer needs to be informed by the original Member of which person will be keeping the account and what the disposition of the toons used by the other player will be.

The Guild Bank 
The expectation for the guild bank is that it will hold things people will take and use. Other than certain rare items, it is not a place to store things long term. If you see something you need, take it, use it, and when you can, replace what you have taken with something of approximately equal value.

Rule #1 - Do not use guild bank items for greed. Using them to level professions or grind levels is fine. Taking them to the AH or passing them to friends outside of our guild is not. 

Rule #2 - If you see something you can use, take it.  Members deposit things in hopes you'll come along and get some solid utility from it. 

Rule #3 - There is no obligation to use the bank. Only put things in if you feel comfortable doing so. 

Rule #4 - Please try to put in items as valuable/useful/needed as what you take out. The key to a successful bank is balance. 

Rule #5 - Once you put something in the bank, it belongs to the Guild. If you leave CPG, do not expect to be reimbursed.

Access: Access to the guild bank tabs is determined by your Main’s status within CPG. All levels of Membership have a limited number of items they may withdraw per day. Initiates and Members without authenticators will only have access to the Free-for-All tabs (tabs #1 & #2), but if you see something you need in the other tabs (tabs #3 Members & #4 Mats) just ask an Officer for it (Officers have access to more items per day than Member-A’s). This will typically not be a problem. Remember that you will need to grab things on your Main if your alts need them. 

Tabs with Limited Access: The Raiders tab (tab #5) is for higher-end items needed for our raiding to be optimal. It may contain crafted items or mats to craft items.  The Socials tab (tab #6) is exactly that – a tab that has items we use for our socials. The Officers tab (tab #7) is for desirable high-end items like mounts, pets, and toys. These items are used as rewards or gifts for our Members that have won a social competition or earned a reward based on something they have done for the Guild. The Deposit Only tab (tab #8) functions as our receptacle for all donated items. You may not make deposits to the other tabs as this enables us to maintain some order in the guild bank and to screen and distribute items into their proper places.

Guild Bank Repair: Thanks to generous donations from our Membership, and weekly guild runs that generate gold, we currently have a sufficient amount of funds in our guild bank to be able to offer Guild Repairs to all of our Members who are above the Initiate level. The amount for repairs is determined on your status level and is available to you on a daily basis. When and how you choose to use the Guild Repair bonus is up to you. Joining others in CPG to do the weekly runs is one way you can give back to the bank.

Disagreements and Personality Issues 
In a virtual community where strangers are interacting in an environment with no real-world consequences, personality conflicts are bound to happen. If you can't work out your differences in private, please contact an Officer to intervene.  If the conflict persists after contact with an Officer, and the problem is deemed a ‘Guild Issue’, it is possible to have the conversation moved to the guild forums where these conflicts can be discussed by the Guild. Having transparency on conflicts and issues enables the Guild to become stronger and more trusting.  By resolving issues together we'll maintain our culture where everyone has the same assumptions, and any unspoken rules are not complete secrets. 

Language and Profanity 
CPG’s policy on profanity and foul language is, as in real life, who cares? If you are truly an offensive person we'll find plenty of reasons to kick you out.  But seriously, try to keep it reasonable. No one will be impressed with your ability to curse like a drunk 12 year old. At least make an attempt to amuse us. To be honest, not many of us find the need to use profanity, except on rare occasions, so you will seldom see it in our chat channels.  We do ask that you refrain from saying things in guild chat which a good number of Members might consider offensive. This is a grey area, but please take it in the spirit it's intended and be respectful of others.

HOWEVER - This lenient attitude *does not* extend to Discord or Blizzard's in-game voice chat. Many players have children or sensitive family members listening and they would prefer not to have cursing broadcast over their speakers. Please keep voice chat clean and mature. Think of the children and respect the family.  

Guild Chat 
CPG uses Discord for our Guild Voice and Chat Channels. We use it for our raiding communication as well as a means of communication within the guild for numerous topics.  On Discord we have many chat channels that are, in fact, chatrooms and you are welcome to use them as such. We have the ability to make many more channels to help with socializing outside of the more WoW focused in-game Guild Chat if needed.

However, the in-game Guild Chat is not a private chatroom. It shares many features with a private chatroom, but it is public and meant for the entire Guild's benefit.  If you’re having a one-on-one conversation with another guild Member and the information in that conversation is not for the benefit of the guild – please take it private.  Friendly banter is great, endless scrolling chatter is a distraction to other members.

Damage Meters/Raid Logs
The Guild has a strong policy on the broadcasting of Damage and Healing done within our raids and dungeons. That policy is: You may do what you like with your own numbers, but other player’s numbers are not for you to distribute or comment on.  Please don’t do it.  If someone asks for a damage report please send it to them in whisper. This policy applies to Damage Meters as well as Raid Logs.  Understand that Raid Logs are for an individual raiders use and information. Per our Raid Policy, refrain from public discussion of any log information that is other than your own. 

Most raiders are already aware of where they stand on output, good or bad. They don’t need anyone to broadcast or call attention to an off day.  Your own performance can be celebrated without embarrassing your guild mates.

Mistakes 
People make mistakes all the time. It is our guild policy that, in almost all cases, we won't get all bent out of shape over it. Admit you screwed up, promise to try not to do it again, and apologize sincerely to the folks you pissed off. In other words, behave like an adult. We'll forgive you.

Self-Policing Community 
One of the foundations of a community is trust in each other. We let you wander around Azeroth sporting the name of our Guild because we trust you. We trust that you'll act in a civilized manner, that you'll treat others with due respect, and that you'll contribute in a positive way to both our Guild and Windrunner/Darrowmere. We give you the benefit of the doubt, because we trust you, so we ask for you to honor that trust and promise to be a good Member. 

In return you can trust the Officers to make every good faith effort to treat you fairly and honestly.

Having said that, please realize that we Officers do not want to spend all our time babysitting the Guild. We want to play and have fun as much as you do so it's our hope that this community will be self-policing. That is, all Members will feel empowered to point out behavior which goes against the Guild's best interests. There are several ways this may be done and it would be the Members’ decision how to proceed.  You may simply point out a minor problem to your fellow Member, or if you do not want to confront anyone, you may report a problem to an Officer.  If you come across a major issue the Officers have not been able to help you with, and want an open discussion, you may make a post on our website or Discord forums. There, everything is open and all Members are able to see it. This way we can hash things out, hear all sides, and hopefully come to a fair resolution.

To have these types of discussions in guild chat or party chat does not facilitate a solution nor provide all parties the ability to state their point of view. 

Self-policing also means that Officers will try to lead with a light touch. We're happy to be the people ultimately responsible, and to be the "bad guy" when necessary, but we hope that the guidelines we have settled on as a guild, and that have been largely determined by guild consensus rather than dictated by the leadership, will continue to provide the necessary parameters that avoid any serious issues.

Quests, Dungeons, and Elites 
One of the functions of this Guild is to help you. If you need help getting over the hump with a quest, want help taking down some elites or a world boss, need to do a particular dungeon, or want to do any dungeon with guildies instead of a pug, please ask.  Asking may or may not get you immediate help, but we won’t know you need help unless you ask.  If you are finding it hard to get help, and there are many reasons why that may happen, contact one of the Officers and we'll try to organize some help for you. Whether that will involve trying to rouse the troops or setting up something on the guild calendar, we will try. Also note that Members can set up guild events for dungeons and quests on the guild calendar.  Let an Officer know and we’ll even put it in the message of the day.

 
Guild Crafters

One of the benefits of being in a guild is access to the guild crafters.  Most Members are generous with their time so if you are looking for a particular crafted item, or need to know what crafted item might work best for you, feel free to ask.  Also, please make use of the professions tab on the in-game Guild menu so that you are aware of who might be able to help you.

Guild Crafting Etiquette: 

• Be polite, use your manners. 
• When possible you should gather and offer the crafter the mats to make the item you are requesting and be aware that it is perfectly proper for the crafter to ask you for them. If some of the mats needed for your item are BoP, you should offer the crafter compensation or barter for them. 
• Guild Crafters are busy just like you so keep in mind they may not be able to help you right away or at all, nor are they obligated to. 
• In a guild tipping is optional, use your common sense.

Basic Information about Raiding with CPG

The information in this section on CPG Raiding is meant to be a light overview of our raid policies.  Initiates and Members who are seeking more information and/or plan to raid with us will need to read our current Raid Policy posted in the Raiding forum on the Guild website and in the # Raiders tab on Discord.

Schedule 
Currently we have both Friday and Saturday raid timers and both usually start @ 7:00 or 7:30p.m.  Friday evenings have the more casual, alt friendly raid, while the Saturday raid is more progression oriented, requiring prep-time from the individual raider. Each raid usually goes for 2 to 3 hours. Times posted are Server time. When we have enough players, ability, and interest we will consider another timer.

Invite policy 

• For current content Friday night raids, you may bring either your Main or an alt, whichever character you need or want to work on at that time. If you are planning to raid on Saturdays you will want to make sure you have both a main and a 2^nd spec geared and ready.
• For current content, Saturday night raids, we want your best geared and best prepared character.  Generally, this is going to be your Raid Main and will be invited before an alt unless role issues require that you bring an alt. 
• For all raids, signups do not guarantee an invite. 
• For scheduled raids of older content, you may bring any character you want provided they are geared for the encounter, or that you have verified with a Raid Leader/Raid Assistant is acceptable.
• Raid invites will generally start 10-15 minutes before the posted start time, so please be online and ready prior to invite start time. 
• Initiates are more than welcome to sign up for any raid.  
  

Loot - General Instance Rules 
With the release of Battle for Azeroth all loot is now personal loot. Roll priority is no longer an issue as all loot is now distributed by the game.

We advocate installing the addon ‘Personal Loot Helper (PLH)’ as it will inform the individual that the item they have won could be used by someone else in the raid. The item belongs to the person who won it and only they can decide if they want to give it up.  For additional information on this addon and our overall raiding policy for BfA, please see the ‘Raiding Policy BfA 2018’ in our Raiding forum on the website or on Discord in #raiding_announcements.

OUR HISTORY

Cult of the Plush Gnome was established on April 19, 2005.  It wasn’t until 2007 that CPG actively began to recruit friends and players to become a community.  Since origination we have had three Guild Masters: Orophino 2005-2009; Deathcupcake 2009-2011; and now Elyssya 2011-Current who has had the assistance of the invaluable Stabbie as First Officer. Over the course of our history we have been fortunate to have had an abundance of hard working Officers, Zookeepers, and Raid Leaders, many of whom are still active players, that kept the guild functioning and helped maintain the great atmosphere you have come to appreciate here with CPG.

Last Edit: 10/20/2018  Elyssya/Stabbie